


Warmth in the Darkness

by alcego



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: After Voltron, Fluff, Galra!Keith, Light Angst, M/M, Nightmares, They Are Very Soft and I Am Very Tired, We're All Tired, keith is tired, lotor is tired, time for bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-29
Updated: 2017-12-29
Packaged: 2021-03-12 18:29:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28640046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alcego/pseuds/alcego
Summary: There was a coldness to the air, though he supposed that may simply have been a byproduct of his discomfort, of the cold sweat raising gooseflesh across his skin.And yet, there was warmth beside him.----A gift for Cece for a Discord Secret Santa event ^,^.
Relationships: Keith/Lotor
Kudos: 1





	Warmth in the Darkness

**Author's Note:**

> idfk this title was pulled completely outta my ass it's 3am and my internet finally got its shit together enough to let me post this so enjoy some Keitor fluff on me
>
>> `NOTE: This fic was originally posted to my account in 2018, but during a moment of, shall we say, incredible hatred for my older works, I orphaned the vast majority of my works on AO3 a few years ago. I regret that decision now, and have backdated and uploaded the identical works here to make up for it. You can still find the original fics under an orphaned penname, but I wanted to have them back on my account, so we are.`

Nightmares were… deeply unpleasant things. That was an understatement, of course. Shadows creeping the wrong way across the floor were deeply unpleasant. No, those horrors were the mind’s manifestations of truths too terrible to truly comprehend. They were, many would argue, the mind’s way of coming to terms with those realities.

Lotor supposed that it made sense, then, that he was plagued by nightmares. Too much had happened in the past year for him to sleep without being woken by the slightest rustle of elegant tree-vines brushing against his windowpane; he had come to accept this as his reality. Now he would have to believe in the sordid truth behind the darkness in his dreams.

Slowly, he opened his eyes. It would be no use attempting to find sweetness in sleep tonight. Once invited, the darkness was slow to leave. Lazy light filtered through the once-fine curtains drawn over the windows, coasting in fuzzy gray beams along the fine particles of dust that hung in the air, suspended there in the strange stillness that the midnight hours brought.

There was a coldness to the air, though he supposed that may simply have been a byproduct of his discomfort, of the cold sweat raising gooseflesh across his skin.

And yet, there was warmth beside him.

Huddled beneath thick blankets and bathed in gentle light, Keith slept. His ink black hair spread across the pillow, chaotic curls framing his face and making it seem soft, despite the strong jaw and the sharp lines of his brow declaring just the opposite. Even the defined edges of his furry Galran ears were softened. Somehow, this light could change Keith’s appearance, to make him porcelain in his sleep — that was the magic unique to soft light and a smitten heart. Despite the night’s ethereal effect on his face, Keith slept with one hand on the knife under his pillow.

Looking at him now, Lotor could almost forget the fear and exhaustion that had carried them to this point, but darkness had a way of lingering. It stained his waking thoughts, tainted the memories he was fondest of. Keith’s smile was nothing more than a shadow of a fragmented fantasy, lost to the hours of darkness. He would look for it when Sty’na’s double suns rose in the morning.

Mumbling incoherent somethings under his breath, Keith shifted closer to Lotor and pressed his forehead against his shoulder. “What’re you doing up?”

“Nothing of note,” Lotor said, a natural lilt to his words. So different from how he felt. Wrong, somehow. But hiding like this… it was natural for him.

Keith grunted, his ears flicking with unconcealed irritation. There were times when he appreciated Lotor’s way with words — a silver tongue was good for so, so many things — but he rarely did when he was weighed down by sleep, and never when Lotor was dodging a question.

 _So easy to read._ Though whether that was a hallmark of Keith’s emotions’ permanent residence on his sleeve or of Lotor’s hard-earned familiarity with his quirks was quite a different matter entirely. “Nightmare,” Lotor offered as a way of apology.

It was an opening for a strike against him, a particular vulnerability in the word. To admit weakness — once it had been unthinkable for him. Not even the death of a friend at his own hand had been worth this baring of the neck, but now…

“Mmm,” Keith hummed. “Same one?”

With him, the darkness was not a weakness. Just a fact of life, an unavoidable consequence of the things they had done to secure peace for a universe in turmoil. Somehow, Keith was able to look unflinchingly at this twisted part of him, when even he took careful steps around it, avoiding it at all costs. He’d always been skilled in the art of avoidance. Too good, as some would say.

Perhaps these nightmares were his mind’s way of forcing him to confront his choices, his faults, his mistakes. He closed his eyes, replaying the blinding flash of a laser gun discharged at point blank range. “Different beginning, but the end was the same.”

“Not fun,” Keith mumbled, and Lotor smiled.

“No, it wasn’t.”

It was strange, how such an obvious statement could ease a little of the ache in his chest. That was something Lotor hadn’t expected, the first time he’d opened up. But it had been a welcome surprise.

Keith’s blunt earnestness had been a balm of sorts, a steady comfort in the wake of nightmares. Lotor tried to reciprocate when Keith’s demons caught up with him, but he lacked the natural honesty Keith possessed. Luckily, it was enough that he was there, for Keith to notice and touch and exist. Neither of them had been allowed to just _live_ before.

A comfortable quiet settled over them, and they lay there, content. Gradually, Lotor felt his eyes grow heavy, pulled down by the immense weight of a tired mind demanding that it be allowed to rest. But even as the dreams themselves faded, the overwhelming _fear_ that they instilled within him remained.

And yet, there was a comforting presence beside him. Maybe, just maybe, he would be all right…

Gasping, Lotor jerked awake, heart thundering in his wrists and blood rushing in his ears. He’d dozed off; he hadn’t meant to.

Solid arms slipped around his waist, and his tail draped itself over his thighs, curling down to his ankles — supporting him without words. Reminding him that he was here now and that whatever happened, Keith would be there. Most nights, that was enough.

Lotor feared that this would not be like most nights, but the moment was fleeting, and he melted into Keith’s embrace.

“Sleep,” Keith said. Almost an order, but mostly not. An almost-order.

Letting his mind toy with the odd sentiment, Lotor closed his eyes. The fear lingered in its unsettling, creeping way, but that was fine — after all, Keith was there. And he would be there when sleep returned, and he would be there in the morning. Lotor was safe, and warm, and wanted. There was nothing more that he could ask for.

So he let his eyes fall shut, and he slept.

**Author's Note:**

> i'm so freaking tired guys but i hope you enjoyed! please let me know what you thought by leaving feedback here or at my tumblr!


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